Concrete delivery units

ABSTRACT

A concrete delivery unit for the mixing and delivery of concrete, comprising a rotatable drum having a filler opening and an outlet opening, a feed hopper arranged at the filler opening, and a controllable closing device arranged at the outlet opening.

United States Patent 1191 Schwing 1 Aug. 26, 1975 CONCRETE DELIVERY UNITS [56] References Cited [75] inventor: Friedrich Wilhelm Schwing, UNITED STATES PATENTS Wanne-Ewkel. Germany 1,074,388 9/1913 Stedman 2,544,545 3/1951 Rockburg [73] Ass1gnee. gerha'rd Schwing, Wanne-E1cke1, 2.895.722 7/1959 Hunkins l "f 3,558,108 1/1971 Jackson 22 Filed; May 1 1973 3,612,491 10/1971 McKi11op....

3,715,107 2/1973 Paris 259/3 [21] Appl. No.: 360,621

Primary ExaminerRobert W. Jenkins 30 Foreign Application it Data Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Malcolm W. Fraser, Esq.

May 24, 1972 Germany 2225191 Dec. 22, 1972 Germany 2263088 ABSTRACT A concrete delivery unit for the mixing and delivery of UOSI l i A concrete comprising a rotatable drum having a filler 2 Int- Cl. i i open ng and an outlet open ng a feed hopper at- [58] Field of Search 259/177 R, 177 A, 175,

ranged at the filler opening, and a controllable closing device arranged at the outlet opening.

1 Claim, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTED AUBZBIHYS 3, 901 ,48 5

PATENTEnAuc26l975 EST 5 U? CONCRETE DELIVERY UNITS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a concrete delivery unit for the mixing and for the controlled, continuous and intermittent delivery of mixed concrete.

Formerly it was usual to mix concrete on site, but this procedure is becoming less common. The more usual practice today is to produce concrete in central mixing works and transport it to building sites by mobile mixers or lorries with trough-shaped bodies.

Mobile mixers are expensive and can not be used all the time; thus the cost of transporting concrete in this manner is high.

It is therefore desirable to transport the concrete from the mixing works to the building sites in relatively cheap tiltable troughs, which are loaded on to normal lorries. To prevent separation of the concrete to be conveyed it is necessary to add to it a little water.

On site the concrete has often to be transferred to crane buckets or the filler hoppers of concrete pumps. But as these can only take small volumes, intermediate silos with larger volumes are used'into which the mobile mixers or lorries can discharge more quickly, so that their waiting time at the building site is reduced. As stated before, if the concrete is brought in a vehicle, it is necessary to add water to it. However, the water does not distribute itself equally over the entire contents of the intermediate silo, as is required. Moreover, if the concrete remains in the intermediate silo for a considerable period it may settle out of the cement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to solve the problem of bringing to a building site semi-dry concrete with the water content necessary for concreting, or of cutting down the waiting and discharge times of mobile mixers with ready-mixed concrete at the building site, taking into accountthe limited space generally available at such sites.

According to the invention, there is provided a concrete delivery unit for the mixing and delivery of mixed concrete, comprising a rotatable drum having a filler opening and an outlet opening, a feed hopper arranged at the filler opening, and a controllable closing device arranged at the outlet opening. The concrete brought in mobile mixers or trough-shaped trucks is discharged into the low placed, spacious feed hopper located in front of the drum. From there, the concrete passes into the adjoining rotating drum which is capable of taking the entire volume of the transported concrete. At the same time, by means of a watering device, water is added to the semi-dry transported concrete and mixed thoroughly as required. A worm located inside the drum is effective both for the mixing as well as for movement of the concrete towards the outlet opening, which is located higher up than the feed hopper so that a crane bucket or the filler hopper of a concrete pump can be brought directly beneath the outlet opening and filled. A cover which can be moved forward and back ward is placed in front of the outlet opening. With this the flow of the concrete is regulated according to the different intake conditions at the building site. The speed of rotation of the drum is preferably adjustable.

With the concrete delivery unit described herein, the waiting or unloading times of mobile mixers which transport ready-mixed concrete can be substantially reduced by delivering the ready-mixed concrete into the delivery unit. The building site is quickly supplied with concrete and the mobile mixers can travel more frequently, so that the profitability of their use is improved.

The semi-dry concrete brought by lorries with or without trough-shaped superstructures at first slides either not at all or only slowly, so as then mostly to slide in one connected, weakly plastic mass from the lorry into the feed hopper. To this end, the feed hopper has at least the width of the superstructure of a lorry and the drum is so arranged as to be capable of taking the quantity delivered from the lorry.

The concrete delivery units and separate concrete discharge appliances, such as concrete pumps, each require at the building sites a considerable space. Additional difficulties arise if the concrete discharge pipe is secured to a distribution pole which is mounted together with the concrete discharge appliance on a common chassis. Extending arms of this type are needed with multi-storey buildings so as to take the pipe-line for the concrete to be transported to the pouring place. The erection of the distribution pole at the building site is predetermined by the field of work and its working distance, with the delivery unit with its outlet opening projecting over the intake hopper of the discharge appliance, e.g. the concrete pump. The delivery unit for its part must be set up in such a way that transporting troughs or mobile mixers can deliver their contents to it. These conditions can usually, however, only be satisfied with difficulty, and in many cases not at all.

For the solution of this problem a version is recommendedwhich is characterised in that the outlet opening of the drum, which is arranged in the lengthwise direction of the frame of a low-bed trailer, projects above the intake hopper of a concrete discharge appliance mounted on the frame. Through these measures, a compact arrangement of concrete, discharge appliance and drum is given, as the latter is arranged with its axis oblique to the lengthwise direction of the frame and the remaining space between the latter and the drum is taken up by the concrete discharge appliance.

In further development of the invention, a folding extension, which can be raised, lowered and rotated, having a concrete feed line connected to the concrete discharge appliance is arranged. By this arrangement of concrete delivery unit, concrete discharge appliance and folding extension on a common frame, a satisfactory solution is provided for all problems arising in practice as a result of the limited space conditions at building sites. In addition, a rotatable chute can be arranged in front of the outlet opening of the concrete delivery unit, so that by swivelling the chute out sideways concrete can also be taken out for smaller building operations at other sites, without the concrete discharge appliance needing to be disconnected from the concrete feed line. Adjustable supports may be provided on the frame to reduce the load on the wheels during operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be further described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a concrete delivery unit according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the concrete delivery unit;

FIG. 3 is a partial section through the ring secured to the frame, with the feed hopper, the elastic cone and the unloading partial cone;

FIG. 4 is a side view of a unit composed of a delivery unit and a concrete pump;

FIG. 5 is a side view of a unit composed of a delivery unit, a pump and a distributing pole,

FIG. 6 is a front end elevation of the drum and a portion of the 'mounting for same; and

FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view on the line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 of the drawings, a frame 1 has an undercarriage 2 and a removable trailer shaft 3. Upon frame 1 is located a rotating drum 4 provided with a peripheral running ring 4 and a circular ring gear 5 which is fixed to the drum and is driven by a pinion 5a powered by a hydraulic motor 6 carried by a frame 6a. Beneath the motor 6 is located a driving motor with an adjustable hydraulic pressure generator 7. Another ring 5b supports the circular ring gear 5 and is mounted in two journals 9 and 9' on a supporting stand 8. A mount 10 has a hydraulic sliding cylinder 11 to which is operatively connected a closing disc 12 for closing the drum outlet opening 12', which is located above the feed hopper 16. On the frame 1 is also secured a water supplying device 13 which includes a pipe 14 leading into the drum 4. Also secured to the frame is a ring 15 which has secured to it a feed hopper 16 and an elastic cone 17 which in the filler zone is covered by a dicharging partial cone 18.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 a drum 102 of the delivery unit is arranged lengthwise in the frame 103 of a low-bed trailer. The unit includes an intake hopper 104 for the introduction of semi-dry or readymixed concrete, which, if required, is mixed with additional water inside the drum 102 by rotation of the drum and is moved on to an outlet opening 108 by the rotation of a worm 105 arranged in the drum, the quantity delivered being pre-determined by setting a closing device 106, arranged so as to slide in an axial direction, and the speed of rotation of the drum. The intake hopper 104 is placed at such a height that a vehicle delivering the concrete to the hopper can discharge this directly. The concrete feed device comprises a concrete pump 107, arranged beneath the outlet opening 108. It extends, with cylinders 109, of which only one is shown and in which the pistons for drawing in and ejecting the concrete are located, as well as with housing 110, into the frame 103 beneath the drum 102 or into the space between the latter and frame 103.

As the frame 103 forms part of a low-bed trailer, the

centre of gravity of the whole arrangement is low. Consequently, the cross-country capacity is materially increased. A concrete feed pipe 112 is arranged below the upper frame section of frame 103. The driving unit 107 of the concrete pump is a hydraulic motor. In front of the outlet opening 108 is hinged a chute 114 which projects over the concrete pump 107 and can be swung out sideways for unloading small quantities of concrete.

On the frame 103 additional supports 115 are arranged which can be extended during operation of the concrete feed line and reduce the load on the chassis 122.

In FIG. 5, similar parts are given the same reference numbers as in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 5, on the upper frame section of the frame 103 is arranged a rotating column 116 with a vertical axis, on which is mounted a folding extension 117, which can be raised, lowered and rotated, with a flexible concrete feed pipe 118. FIG. 5 shows the entire delivery unit before extending the folded extension 117.

Rotating column 116 has, co-axially with the axis of rotation of the folding extension 1 17, a section of pipe 1 19 which is connected at its lower end to the concrete pump 107 through a swivel joint 120 and an elbow 121, and at its upper end to the concrete feed line 118.

To take the load off the chassis 122 as well as the rear axle 123 of the towing vehicle 124, hydraulically extendable supports 126 and 127 are arranged near the front and rear ends of frame 103 and carry the entire weight in the extended condition.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for mixing and delivering concrete, comprising a. a mobile frame,

b. a rotatable drum on said frame with its axis at all times oblique to the lengthwise direction of said frame and having vertically spaced inlet and outlet openings at the rear and front ends respectively with the rear end and outlet opening uppermost,

c. a ring around said inlet opening,

d. power means to rotate said drum,

e. unidirectional screw within said drum and having an oblique axis corresponding to that of the drum to cause concrete to travel upwardly from said inlet to the outlet opening,

f. a feed hopper adjacent said inlet opening of such size and height that a vehicle can discharge its concrete load directly thereto,

g. an elastic connection between said ring and hopper,

and

h. a regulator for controlling the discharge area of said outlet opening. 

1. Apparatus for mixing and delivering concrete, comprising a. a mobile frame, b. a rotatable drum on said frame with its axis at all times oblique to the lengthwise direction of said frame and having vertically spaced inlet and outlet openings at the rear and front ends respectively with the rear end and outlet opening uppermost, c. a ring around said inlet opening, d. power means to rotate said drum, e. unidirectional screw within said drum and having an oblique axis corresponding to that of the drum to cause concrete to travel upwardly from said inlet to the outlet opening, f. a feed hopper adjacent said inlet opening of such size and height that a vehicle can discharge its concrete load directly thereto, g. an elastic connection between said ring and hopper, and h. a regulator for controlling the discharge area of said outlet opening. 